Three killed in residential building fire, owner booked

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, May 26

Back-to-back tragedies struck the Capital over the weekend as two separate fires claimed the lives of seven newborns and three individuals.

Following the blaze on Saturday night at a baby care hospital in East Delhi, which engulfed the facility in flames, another fire ravaged a four-storeyed house in the Krishna Nagar area on Sunday morning. This incident resulted in the loss of three lives and left one person critically injured. The fire department received a distress call about the incident around 2.30 am, prompting the dispatch of five fire tenders to the scene.

According to fire officials, 12 people were rescued from the burning building and rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Sadly, despite the efforts of emergency responders, two persons succumbed to their injuries on the scene, while a third passed away at the hospital. The critically injured person was transferred to Max Hospital for specialised care.

Delhi Fire Department Director Atul Garg said, “It was a house fire… 11-12 people were there, and there was only one staircase that was filled with smoke. We reached on time as there was no traffic, and luckily the fire was contained to a single building. Twelve people were rescued, but unfortunately three died.”

The victims of the house fire have been identified as Parmila (66), Keshav Sharma (18) and Anju Sharma (34), adding names to the growing list of casualties from the weekend’s tragic events.

While the cause of the fire is yet to be determined, initial reports suggest the blaze may have originated in 11 two-wheelers in the stilt parking of the house and spread to the first floor. The police have booked the building owner.

As investigations into both incidents continue, the city mourns the loss of innocent lives and grapples with the aftermath of the fires.